Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Ward Members Truly Forward the Work

So nothing super exciting happened this week, but I do want to share some observations:

Teaching English to kindergartners alone is hard!!! My teaching comp finished her mission, and it's all up to me now... ahhh!

Mission time flies by! There are only two sisters in the mission that have been here longer than me! I will hit my year mark in less than 2 weeks ... what?! I feel like I just got here!

Less-actives are difficult; they cancel on you, go to their bedrooms to "sleep" when we show up, so we just teach the strong members of the family. they leave the house when we come, but every once in a while, they are great! We have one ALA named Erdenechimeg who I taught while I was in Erdenent, then she moved here, then I came here, and we are meeting again. She is so incredibly lonely, but with our love and support she is doing great! She comes as our witness in lessons and meets with us al the time, and got a calling and is coming every week!!! Woohoo! And she might go on a mission too! We meet with the less active parents of an elder in the mission, and while they love us, they aren't too keen to listen to our lessons, but this week they came to church and the husband blessed the sacrament, and we are having FHE with them tonight!

The ward can definitely help a ton! Let me share an experience from this week:

We found a family this week. The husband and wife are less actives of many many years because they joined the church as teenagers then moved to the countryside for work and went to China for work where there was no church. They have 3 children and their younger siblings (now in 20's) are investigators. They all live in one very small room with a small mattress, they have only the clothes on their bodies and no money to take a bus anywhere, so they can't afford to come to church. Their children are sick and one has some disabilities, but they are trying their hardest to help their kids. They truly are the humblest family I've met but teaching them is hard because they don't understand our Mongolian very well at all and because they don't remember much at all about this gospel. Well, we are trying our hardest to teach and explain these things to them and we teach with the spirit, and they really seem to love us. Then, Sunday during ward council, I asked the leaders for help with this family and here's what happened: the elder's quorum president is finding some men to befriend the husband, the relief society is finding women to visit teach and befriend the wife, the primary president is going to make sure the kids can come to church and enjoy primary, the ward mission leader will assign ward missionaries to come help us teach them the lessons, and the ward will try and support and help with their needs as well. WOW!!!! So amazing, and they all volunteered to do so so quickly!! It was amazing to see these people eager to serve and love a family they have never met ... that is this church and this gospel. Helping build up God's kingdom by loving and supporting one another. Then, this morning the family called and asked us to visit them tomorrow!!! woohoo!!!!

I know without a doubt that this church and the things I teach people each day are true! I know God lives, his son Jesus Christ atoned for each one of us, and that through the plan of salvation, we can live with God again. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and was translated by Joseph Smith through the power of God. I know that God has chosen prophets in all times and that Thomas S. Monson is God's chosen prophet on the earth today. This gospel is pure happiness and can truly help and bless every person on this earth should they choose to accept it. I know God hears and answers each person with a sincere desire to know the truth and he has answered me. I love missionary service, and I can't believe that I am almost done with 1 year!